Existing hardware designs for burial containers such as caskets frequently employ the use of decorative elements separately affixed to the handling hardware, or jointly affixed with the handling hardware to the casket shell, as a means to create product variety with minimal manufacturing and component inventory costs. As such, the decorative scheme of the casket can be tailored to suit a customer's wishes with minimal effort and expense. Throughout the handling and presentation of the casket, the decorative elements, in addition to the handling hardware, must be capable of withstanding load bearing activities, such as when a casket is removed from a hearse by tugging on a casket handle.
To withstand these load bearing activities, the decorative elements are either adhesively affixed, such as with a decal, or mechanically attached via a stud/bolt and nut/clip combination, such as with a sculptural base relief. These types of attachment techniques, however, have distinct disadvantages and drawbacks. For example, one drawback is that the process for adhesively attaching the decorative element is not pragmatically reversible. That is, once the first decorative element is adhesively applied, the decorating scheme can be altered only by applying a second adhesive decorative element over the first, thereby wasting material in the process. Another drawback is that the decorative elements may not readily lend themselves to mechanical attachment to the handling hardware and/or casket shell, thus requiring elaborate and expensive attachment apparatus. In sum, the disadvantages in these current methods for attaching decorative elements are that the process is neither pragmatically reversible in the case of the adhesive attachment, nor physically facile in the case of the mechanical attachment.
To further serve the load bearing activities of casket handling and presentation, the handling hardware frequently is secured to the casket by mechanical means, most frequently by screws and/or bolts. These screws and bolts are readily visible on the exterior of the casket. As can be appreciated, the exposure of these screws and bolts in the handling hardware detracts from the aesthetics of the casket exterior.
It is therefore desirable from an aesthetic yet economical vantage point, if an interchangeable decorative element could be constructed to be readily affixed to the handling hardware with minimal effort or added expense. More specifically, it is desirable to have a decorative element that could be easily substituted with another decorative element to alter the decorative scheme of the exterior of the casket. Furthermore, it is desirable to have the decorative piece configured such that when affixed to the handling hardware the attachment screws and bolts would be concealed from normal view in the presentation and use of the casket.